Some Tile Samples, Encountered in 17th Century Istanbul Architecture Among the Tile Finds Unearthed in the Iznik Tile Kilns Excavation

Abstract

The Iznik Tile Kilns Excavation, which started in 1981, has been carried out in the BHD coded excavation area in the district center since 1984. A total of eleven kilns have been identified so far in the excavation area in Iznik, which is located in the region where tile and ceramic workshops were known to be dense during the Ottoman period. The kiln residues unearthed during the excavations down to approximately -4 meters in elevation, various terracotta materials used during firing in the kilns, and ceramic garbage dumps containing burnt or defective pieces are also separated every year to obtain new data on the intensity and qualities of the production here. Among the finds separated as production residues, tile pieces remain very few in number compared to ceramics. Most of these semi-finished tile pieces are composed of underglaze blue-white and multi-colored decorative border tiles and panel tiles. Although there are examples made in the colored glaze technique, they are rarely encountered. Introducing these tile pieces, which are certain to be Iznik production, to the scientific community, especially contributes especially to the identification of tiles of unknown origin. Determining the structures in which they were used is important for dating these tiles. In this study, six tile finds were evaluated within the framework of important structures in İstanbul -such as the Sultan Ahmed Complex, the New Mosque Complex, the Eyüp Sultan Tomb and Topkapı Palace- which are identical or closely similar examples are known.